I Tried the MOST EXPENSIVE Meal in the Philippines – Was It Worth It

Hey guys, Mike Chen here in Manila and this next meal is going to be a treat. I've been to a lot of street food spots, a lot of buffets, but I recently just heard about this incredible chef's tasting menu at this next restaurant I'm going to. And apparently you can book this meal throughout the day, so I picked no. So, let's go check it out. So those restaurants in this very unassuming building. There it is. Wow, this is a really pretty place. So this restaurant is called Gallery by Chile and every day you can choose between different course meals. I think for lunch you can order alak cart and dinner's only for the chef's tasty menu. So, I got the 10 course chef tasting menu, which is their biggest tasting menu. And this place is so nice. Beautiful setup. You see the bar right in front of you. The kitchen you can look into right in the back. Not a big place, but pretty. So, I got the 10 course tasting. This is the menu. So, it looks like it's going to start with some tropical ceviche. There's crab. There's lobster. Bunch of seafood. There's going to be duck. There's going to be a fried wagu. I've never done a tasting with you here in the Philippines before. And also they mentioned that this is going to be a two to three hour experience. So I'm ready for the journey. And I think before the um the food gets here, there's something called cocktail time. And I see people going up to the to the bar and they're preparing something for them. Hi. So this is Chef Gre. So good afternoon and welcome to Gallery by Ch. So first it starts off. We'll be having our welcoming drink which is our housemade kombucha. So, as you can see behind me here at the gallery, we can make our own liquor infusions and our own fermentations. And so, one of which is our kombucha, which starts off as green tea. We ferment it for 2 weeks and after which infuse them with fruits and aromatics. This one being red dragon fruit and mint. So, as it is fermented, it does become quite acidic. So, I do recommend that you take a small sip first just to get your palette used to flavor. Cool. Thank you. Oo. Oh, that's nice. M. That's really good. Thank you. This is our cocktail bite in just one bite. Here at the gallery, we our philosophy is to sort out our ingredients locally as much as possible. Also, as you may know, our menu right now revolves around coconut. So, this great entry bite to our coconut menu. It is compressed in a cocktail made with lambog. Lambok is a Filipino alcohol, which is fermented distilled coconut sack. I do recommend that you have it at one bite. Oh, that's really fragrant. That's beautiful. Thank you. We're now heading to our urban garden for your time. Wa. Okay. You guys have your own garden? Yes. Wow. Grow the calamani tree over there. The what tree? Sorry. Calamanzi. Calamanzi. You You'll grow your own kalamanzi here. Wow. So cool. To explain your garden. Hi chef. Hi. Good afternoon and welcome to K again. Their is called the scallop tart. So it incorporates differential ingredients. Starting with the base of the tart itself. So that one is made out of wrappers or spring wrappers. Then we added the scallop tartar which is mixed with mani is a seasoning made out of soy sauce and the local citrus called kamani. Then we finish this off with aging it with some moringa powder and some of our pans. This all the herbs are made from the garden here inside this. Wa. Oh, that's amazing. That's the first time I had something such a wasabi element. You know, you don't see that a lot in Filipino food. That's very bright. It's beautiful. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Our laptop is here now. So, this area is our R&D kitchen. So this where we call our you can use in the offer for gallery challenging. So here chef here. Thank you so much. Hi chef. Onto your last bites you'll be having one of our newest theat. It begins with a mixture of coconut water sugar and bacterium muted to the Philippines. The acettobactor side during the fermentation process creates a gelatinous seliness layer. It has subtle hints of sweetness in acidity. This one offers an authentic coconut taste to it. And then to pair it off, we we will be serving it with our fermented coconut cream. So the fermentation process with this is very similar with how we make beers. This coconut cream has this malty beer like notes which balances out the acidity, the sweetness and everything. So, please grab your spoons. You may also grab your shell and then we can start. Oh, wow. So, it's coconut cream. Yes, with nut. Oh, wow. Wow. That's really good. Oh, it's so coconuty. M. So, this is only just the beginning of your coconut courses. So, from here onwards, you'll be experiencing coconut in different things. Well, I can't wait. Thank you so much, chef. Thank you. Wow, that was really good. Every bite was so refreshing. This is definitely a very innovative way to start the meal for sure. I kind of missed a little bit of detail before I came that every dish has pretty much related to coconut. So that's why the theme is coconut. So this is before the journey even begins. Still part of that first dish is zero waste. This is made from basically the remnants of seafood and they made it into an ice cream. This is seafood ice cream right here. So on top there's oonie. Look at this. What? Seafood ice cream. Wow. That is really interesting. A little sweet. Little savory, little briny as well. I didn't know how I was going to like seafood ice cream. The texture is phenomenal. I think there's little bits of fruit in here as well. The flavor actually works pretty well. Kind of like a little seafood flavor with a little bit of citrus. Oon is always good. That's pretty interesting. This next one, this is like a little puff. So inside there's langana and also A5 wagon. All right. Oo. Oh, this is awesome. There's also taro in this as well. So, this is a really rich, very meaty, like extremely meaty little puff. That's so good. The puff literally disintegrates in your mouth. This thing has so much deliciously rich, deep, meaty flavors. And finally, this is a cherry tomato with cinnamon pumped inside. What? Look at this thing. What? Oh man, that's definitely a pallet cleanser right there. Super bright, a little sweet, definitely sour. I think that's the perfect bite after having that puff. I think the puff's my favorite out of this. The ice cream is really interesting. It's unique. I'll give it that. Each one of those little dishes were one thing checked off the list here, but it's not. So, the three bites I just had was part of the zero waste. So, now we're at the coconut section, and these are all coconut related bites of food. So this one is crystal bread with coconut butter. Looks like ikura on top. Look at this. Beautiful. It's like coconut butter sitting on a crystal stoop. Sitting on a crystal. That's so good. I beautiful coconut butter is so creamy, so light, very subtle. It's not strong at all. And the uh crystal bread, it's like a crystal cracker. It's very crispy. And this one is like a little tamalei and inside is corn puree. Little dry shrimp on top. Wow. This is so freaking good. You can definitely taste the aroma of the coconuts inside the corn puree. Wow. It's smooth. It's rich. It's velvety. Oh, this is phenomenal with a little texture changes from the tiny dried shrimp. Oh, man. Just a hint of sweetness. And then every time you bite into the shrimp, there's like a little popping briny umami filled burst. The last one, this is like a kare. And this is supposed to be like a little bum bun. So dip it in the sauce. Oh, holy crap. Those shredded meat inside the little crispy shell. There's peanut butter sauce inside. You dip it on the peanut butter sauce that's on the outside as well. It's like just the most flavorful thing. I mean, that is very rich, aggressively flavored, and I absolutely love it. So, this is the last appetizer bite. This is the luton bahai, and this is supposed to be like a like a homecooked chicken soup infused with some coconut water. Looks like there's roasted coconut on top as well. Oh, beautiful. This is one of my favorite things. The roasted coconuts, nice and crispy. The soup is just divine. I mean, you feel that soup all the way down to your soul. M soup is delicious. The coconut water, you definitely taste a lot of coconut in there. The coconut goes so well with the soup. The subtle sweetness of the coconut really just highlights all that amazing flavor of the broth, guys. Makes you feel so warm inside. That was a lot of bites of food even before the official meal begins, which is right now. So, this first dish, this is a tropical ceviche. This is a grouper from the northern part of the Philippines. And it's made with a local Filipino lime called the dia. Pretty much looks like a little key lime that's from the Philippines. Wow. Wo. There's so much happening in the ceviche. This thing is sweet. It's citrusy. The grouper is pretty much melt in your mouth. There's a bits of fruits in here as well. M. Wow. That grouper is tender and it's pretty much cooked in the juice of this lime. And this is such an incredibly vibrant dish. If this doesn't wake up your taste buds, nothing will. I mean, calling it a tropical ceviche, I think, is the best way to put it. So much bright flavors in here. They're sweet, they're sour, there's a hint of bitterness and definitely so much zest from that little lime. Wow. This is really awesome. This is one of those dishes that it's really going to waken your pallet. that's going to waken your appetite. The perfect gateway dish for this journey. So, this next course is the crab exo. And inside you can see there's literally kura, there's blue crab, and it's all inside the exo sauce. And the foam is made with dashi and some coconuts. Wa! Look at this. Wow. That's awesome. That blue crab is delicious. This thing has ton of blue crab inside. The foam just adds so much depth and flavor. The kora brings the umami and everything just highlights how delicately sweet that crab is. And there's a little bit of citrus here too to brighten everything up. There is a lot of crab meat in here. Look at this. Wow. This is awesome. Like everything just works so well. That citrus juice is incredibly bright. That's a really tasty dish. So nice. So this is the lobster dish. This is a local Filipino slipper lobster and it's served on top of a calamani puree. The lobster itself is cooked on a yakitori grill. That's why it smells so nice and smoky. And there's coconut milk inside with some cilantro oil as well. So beautiful. Oh my gosh. Wow. This is one of those dishes that you wish you had a basket of bread so you don't waste a single drop of the sauce. The lobster is so tender and delicate and sweet. M calami puree. Rich, velvety, also beautifully citrusy and bright. Every bite you taste the smoke. You taste the sweetness of the lobster and that puree just brings it all together. This thing is sweet. It's fragrant, savory, and rich. Just so delicious. That was only three down. So, right now, it's about an hour into the meal. So, I think this is going to take about 2 hours. But, wow. You'll enjoy every single minute of it. So, the next dish is going to be octopus. And they brought over this place map that's designed by a local graffiti artist. And I don't know, this octopus is pretty cute. I might feel bad eating this. So this next dish is inspired by chicken insol, which is a very traditional barbecue method usually reserved for chicken. The octopus is marinated in ginger, scallions, calamansi with a bit of chicken skin on top. And also the vinegar that's used is a coconut vinegar that they actually gave me a little bit of and a piece of fried chicken skin so I can dip it in there to try out the vinegar on its own. And as soon as this dish came to my table, I smelled that vinegar right away. Oh, it's so awesome. And beside the vinegar, a little crunchy papaya on top of the octopus as well. Wow, that chicken skin is so good. Melt in your mouth chicken skin. The octopus covered in this marinade. It's smokeoky. It's so tender. It's cooked perfectly. There's so much umami in this sauce. And because the octopus is so tender, goes so well with the crunchy papaya in the crunchy chicken skin. That's so freaking lovely. And now dip the chicken skin to the coconut vinegar. Ooh, it's like a very fragrant acidy flavor. That's delightful. That's really good dish. So next is the grouper. So this is grouper wrapped in seaweed and then steamed. And on top of the grouper is a pilco sauce which is a very traditional Spanish sauce. And they usually make it by combining the collagen of the fish with extra virgin olive oil. Here they also added coconut oil to this as well. The greens on the side is two different textures of Chinese broccoli. Yeah, you can taste that coconut right away. The fish is nice and flaky. It's firm yet tender. really nice, especially combined with that super crunchy Chinese broccoli. The broccoli is a little bitter, also a little mustardy. The sauce is so delicious. Obviously, a little sticky, very rich. Tastes really, really good with the broccoli and the fish. That's probably the most I've ever enjoyed Chinese broccoli. So, the next dish is duck. So, this is a local duck that is aged for about 2 to 3 weeks. And the sauce underneath is the mole made with the duck juice as well as hispiscus sauce and what looks like grilled bananas on the side too. And they bring over this. This is their duck pastrarami. So, they say to try this first. Look at all that seasoning on the duck pastrami. And that beautiful layer of fat. Wow. That's some melty mouth tender stuff, but so smoky and nice. and the duck breast. Add some of the jew. Add some of the mole. Add some aspiscus. This incredible. First of all, this sauce is so good. You taste the chocolate. Taste that nice bright flavor of the aspiscus. The chocolate sauce is so smoky. This is one of the most tender piece of duck you'll ever put in your mouth. It's juicy. It's fatty. The sauce is incredible. The sauce goes perfectly with that fatty duck. That is a perfect 10 out of 10 on a tenderness scale. M. Oh, the banana. That's so sweet, too. Sweet, smoky. So nice. Next dish is a pallet cleanser. Beautiful pallet cleanser. This is the bukco salad. Inside is coconut sorbet. There's seasonal fruits, lemongrass, and basil. M sweet herby. That'll definitely cleanse your palette. Okay, this next dish looks insane. Here you get a cut of Japanese A5 Wagu. So the sauce here is a mix of beef, soy sauce, and calamani. There's three other condiments on the side. There's black garlic sauce, pickled shallots, and wagu fatty emoji. Then there is Wagyu fried rice with mushrooms, and a Wagyu tartar. This is a beautiful looking piece of Wagyu. And they said to start with the tart tar first. That's super tender. Tasty olive oil. A little bit of citrus. Oh, that beef is so fatty. That's one of those foods that after you eat it, you're still salivating for it. Let's try the fried rice. Look at all that wagon fat in the fried rice. Bit of mushrooms. I want a whole giant bowl of this rice. This thing is so rich and fatty. Every single brain that just submerged in that delicious wagu fat. There's so much garlic in this dude. This is like a Filipino garlic rice that went all the way up to Super Saiyan 4. Of course, Japanese egg fight Wagu. Man, always happy to see this. Dunk it in the sauce. Dunk it in the fat. Oh man. A5 Wagu is one of those foods that whenever you take a bite, your eyes just want to close because your whole body, your taste buds, every part of you just want to soak in that delicious flavor. Wow, the sauce is so good. Talamanchi is really one of the greatest ingredients on this planet. I love how it's used in so many sauces because it really does make everything brighter. It adds that extra spark, you know? That's incredible. The beef obviously is amazing, but the sauce, oh my gosh, it's so good. Holy moly. I've actually had a lot of Wagyu fried rice in my day. Nothing beats this. Not even close. So, next is a cheese course. And they make all their cheeses in house. And this orange one is a komodo cam bear cheese that's made with sweet potato. And the other one is I've never seen this before. This is a coconut blue cheese. Wow. And they paired it with their dried mango or sourdough. So, I'll try this one with the mango here. That's extremely nutty cheese. This sweet potato cheese is superb. It's so mild and creamy. Texture is almost like a sweet potato pie. That's delicious. This I never had before. This is a coconut cheese. Let me try with the mango. M. Oh my god. That's the greatest cheese ever. My cheese tastes like a coconut pudding for a coconut jelly. I mean, it definitely has that funk you would expect from blue cheese. Wow. Unbelievable. Seriously, I think tastes like coconut jelly. This is like the greatest blue cheese ever. Wow. That was such an impressive piece of cheese. The next is uh so pretty. First of all, there's a kombucha. And then also, this is so cool. This is three different types of cacao inside a dessert that looks like a cacao. I'm supposed to drink the kombucha first. M. Oh, there's cacao in here as well. Oh, that's delicious. And this one, check it out. Oh, there's sorbet in here. So, the three different cacao is one is inside a kombucha, one is inside the outer shelf. this dessert. Third is these little cocoa nips inside the sorbet. That is so refreshingly delicious. I probably shouldn't have tried to put everything in my mouth, but it was so crumbly. I didn't want to drop any of it. A so good. Especially that kombucha. That kombucha was incredible. Final dessert. This is a a mango sago. for the pearls. Of course, mango soaked in coconut milk with coconut cream and some ice cream. Oh, this is so milky. Every bite you're getting so much coconut flavor. The mango, it's absolutely delicious. Of course, this country produces some of the best mangoes in the world. This is such a satisfying dessert. I'm so sad this is over. Well, pretty much over, but this has been so much fun. So, this is the last dish and this is their take on a Japanese cheesecake. And it's sitting on a grill smelling all beautifully toasted and nice. It's so smoky. There's a little charcoal sitting on the bottom. Oh my gosh. Look at this. Oh my gosh. Wow. This is the ultimate fireworks finale of desserts. They added dark chocolate to this cheesecake and really made it their own. Tastes like the most delicious silky cheesecake you'll ever put in your mouth. Oh, it's such a nice smoky flavor from the charcoal. It's sweet but not overly sweet because it's dark chocolate. What a finish. They call it 10 courses. It goes way beyond 10 courses if you count every single little bite of food. This is more like 20 courses of food. And you learn so much from these postcards that are given to you. I learned so much about local coconuts. And these are all the coconut sub products they use here at the restaurant cooking the food. And at the back there's like a coconut song that you can listen to on Spotify. This is really interesting. They give you some dups. This is the local lime here in the Philippines. They told me that unfortunately these limes are going extinct. So they gave everybody some seeds and and hopefully I guess they can flourish again. That's so interesting. So not only was this incredibly delicious, you learn a lot too. Also, everybody here is just, of course, it's very on brand in terms of just being so friendly and helpful. Such an incredible experience. There's no Michelin in the Philippines, I don't think. But this would 100% be a Michelin star restaurant if Michelin was here. And the 10 course meal goes for around $100. And of course, that's a lot of money here. But if you've been to other tasting menus, the quality and amount of food you're getting here, the value is so much better than at least 50%, maybe even over 75% of the tasting menus I've been to in my life. Yeah, what an experience. I'm I'm full. I'm good. I'm satisfied. I'm happy. If you want to celebrate a special occasion in Manila or you just really love chef tasting menus, I will highly recommend this place. And as always, the information is listed down below for you guys. Thank you all so much for watching. Till we eat again.